Adjusting device for fabric-cutting machines.



No. 667,240. Patented Feb. 5, l90l. H. A. MEYER.

ADJUSTING DEVICE FOR FABRIC CUTTING MACHINES.

(AppIication filed. Nov. 16, 1900.)

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'' NrrEn STATES FFIQE.

PATENT HENRY A. MEYER, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE WOLF ELEC-TRIOAL PROMOTING COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

ADJUSTING DEVICE FOR FABRIC-CUTTING MACHINES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 667,240, dated February5, 1901-.

Application filed November 16, 1900. Serial No. 36,727. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY A. MEYER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Oincinnati, in the county of Hamilton and State 5 of Ohio,have invented certain new and use ful Improvements in Adjusting Devicesfor Fabric-Cutting Machines; and I do hereby declare the following to bea full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as willenable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and usethe same.

This invention relates to machines for cutting textile and otherfabrics; and it consists, substantially, in the improvements hereinaf- Iter more particularly described, and pointed out in the claims.

In the art of cutting fabrics to pattern it is usual in some instancesto employ a reciprocating cutter and in others a rotary cutter,

the selection depending somewhat upon the nature or character ofmaterial to be operated upon. With a rotary cutter, however, the degreeof penetration thereof is greatest at the topmost layer of fabric andgradually be- 2 5 comes less for each succeeding layer beneath. Hencethere is a corresponding variation in the size of the cut fabricproduced, which is undesirable. This difference of penetration of thecutter is of course due to the curvature of the cutting edge thereof,which fact has resulted in the use of contrivances or devices forpresenting the fabric layers to the cutter in such manner that thelayers are cut to practically an equal depth or degree. With such formerdevices, however, it is usually necessary in some instances to lower theentire machine, including the cutter, in order to take up or compensatefor wearof the cutter, and in other instances the fabric layers 0 arepresented to the cutter necessarily at a a somewhat different angle eachtime an adjustment is made. In the latter case the depth of cut is ofcourse not the same for different superposed layers of fabric operatedupon.

The object of the present invention is to overcome the objections abovementioned and to provide an adjustable cloth-lifter for compensating forthe wear of the cutter and also 4 for keeping or maintaining the fabriclayers at the same angle to the cutter irrespective of the extent orfrequency of adjustment of said. lifting device.

' The above and additional objects I attain by the means illustrated inthe accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view ofa rotary clothcut-ting machine of well-known form, the same having myimprovements in con nection therewith. Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectionalview, broken off at one end, of the foot-plate of the machine, showingmy improved clothlifter adjustably fitted thereon. Fig. 3 is a top planView of Fig. 2, and Fig. 4 is a bottom plan view thereof. Fig. 5 is aview in perspective of the adjustable cloth-lifter detached.

Preliminary to a more detailed description and as distinguishing myimproved adjustable cloth-lifting device from what has been' heretoforedevised for a similar purpose I desire to state that said device islocated in any suitable manner upon the foot-plate in front of therotary cutter, and the same is slotted, so as to partially receive thecutter as the latter rotates. The said lifting device is practicallypyramidal in shape, being inclined upwardly both forwardly and at thesides, the inner or rear end thereof being more abruptly inclined, oreven straight, if desired. Said device has a flat or straight base andis adjustable toward and away from the cutter on an inclined plane, sothat the edge of the fabric layers will always be presented to saidcutter at the same angle irrespective of the extent of such adjustments.

Specific reference being made to the drawings, A represents aconventional form of rotary fabric cutting machine, mounted, as usual,upon a foot-plate a, the forward end of which enters beneath thelowermost layer of fabric and serves to lift the pile of fabric layersthereon to be cut out by the rotary cutter B, which latter is operatedin any suitable manner from an electric or other motor. (Not shown.) Tofollow the pattern to which the fabric layers are to be cut, the machineis moved about upon the supporting-table by means of the handle shown atb. The said foot-plate 0t may or may not be formed in its I00 uppersurface with a recess 0 for the reception of a base-plate (not shown) onthe lower end of the standard of the machine; but an elongated opening dis preferably formed in said plate to give ample clearance to thecutting edge of the cutter B and also for the free passage or escape ofsmall cuttings or threads which may be carried down by the said cutteras it cuts into and severs the cloth layers. Directly in front of theedge of the rotary cutter the said foot-plate a is provided with aninclined plane e, which extends upwardly on either side of the slot oropening d for a suitable distance and the upper end of which terminatesat a point within the peripheral edge of the cutter. In this way thesaid inclined plane 6 lies partly on one side of said cutter and partlyon the other for a fraction of its length. As will be observed, the slotor opening din the foot-plate a, is widened at f, and from such widenedportion outwardly the under side of the plate is beveled at g on eachside of the said slot (1, so as to form a guide in which moves the nutql,which serves to tighten the adjustable cloth-lifter O at differentpoints of adjustment. The said clothlifting device consists ofpractically a pyramidal block, which is guided upon the inclined plane ein any suitable manner so as to be adjustable forwardly relative to theedge of the rotary cutter, and the same is formed with an opening is,receiving a screw Z, the end of which enters or screws into the nut i,which is prevented from turning by means of the beveled sides of theguide in which it moves. The said block or cloth-lifting device 0 isinclined upwardly at 1 in the direction of the peripheral edge of thecutter, and the same is likewise inclined upwardly and forwardly at thesides from each outer corner of the device, as indicated at 2 2. Thisgives to the front and sides of the device each an incline ofgradually-diminishing width, while the inner or rear end 3 thereof maybe either more abruptly inclined or perfectly straight, as desired. Saiddevice is also formed witha slot m, into which the cutter extends, thebase of said slot being preferably inclined at 'n, so as to conform asnearly as possible to the cutting edge of the cutter and to reachbeneath such edge for some distance, so as to partially protect the sameand also to leave sufficient stock of material for the formation of thescrew hole or opening 70. At the inner extremity of said slot m, at oneside, a semicircular notch o is formed in the block, which notchgradually widens or enlarges toward the bottom to facilitate the escapeof dirt particles, as well as small threads and ravelings, which may bedrawn or pulled from the fabric by the cutter. Said adjustable liftingdevice may be guided in any suitable way; but preferably I form theinclined plane e by recessing or cutting out the foot-plate a on itsupper surface, which leaves the sloping or inclined walls 6 6 and 7 atthe sides and lower end of said plane, respectively, and the block orlifting device is cut or shaped to exactly fit between these walls, thesaid lower wall serving as a stop limiting the downward movement of saidblock. The upper end of said inclined plane gradually merges ordisappears into the upper surface of the said foot-plate a. At 3 in Fig.1 the position in which the fabric layers are constantly held before thecutter is shown in dotted lines. In virtue of the fact that the block orcloth-lifting device 0 is adjustable on an incline it will be seen thatcompensation is thus made for the gradually-decreasing depth of theblock and that the cloth is always presented to the cutter atpractically the same angle irrespective of the adjustments of saidblock. In former devices for this purpose the lifter has in mostinstances been adjustable on a horizontal plane, and by reason of thegradually-decreasing height of the same the cloth layers were brought toa different angle to the cutter each time an adjustment was made, andthus the depth of cut could not be the same for different fabric layers,or even for the same fabric layers in some instances. By the use of myimproved device all this is overcome and the depth of cut is made to beequal at all times, except, of course, when certain adjustments may bemade of the cutter itself for the purpose of altering the degree ofpenetration of said cutter.

The purpose in cutting out or recessing the upper surface of thefoot-plate to form the inclined plane is to give to such plane as low aposition as possible, so that the edge of the fabric layers will onlyrequire to be turned upward toward the cutter at a very slight angle. Bythis means also a greater number of fabric layers can be cut at one timewith a cutter of predetermined curvature or diameter than if the saidplane was elevated above the surface of the foot-plate.

In thus describing the features and the advantages possessed by myimproved clothlifting block I have not overlooked the fact that it hasheretofore been suggested to provide a block for this purpose havinginclined sides and being elevated at its inner end by means of a beveledwasher placed or inserted beneath the block upon the foot-plate. Such aconstruction is obviously more expensive than the present, being muchmore difficult to make and also consuming considerable time in effectingthe desired adjustments.

In operation the inner abrupt end 3 of the pyramidal block or liftingdevice 0 permits the material or fabrics to again assume a fiat orhorizontal position after being out, while the sides 2 2 thereof tend tospread or separate the severed or divided portions of the fabric, so asto carry the same away from the cutter. The forwardly andupwardlyinclined side 1 of said block causes the edge of the fabriclayers to be turned upwardly to the edge of the cutter, as shown indotted lines, Fig. 1, so that the layers are all cut practically to thesame depth or extent. It is of course obvious that other means foradjusting the said block or lifter O can be resorted to, if desired. Itis further obvious that to adjust the block necessary to loosen the nuti, whereupon the or lifter by the devices shown it is simply same can beagain tightened after the block has been moved or adjusted to thedesired extent.

Having thus fully described my invention, what. I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

1. In a fabric-cutting machine, the footplate having an inclined planelocated in front of the cutter, and an inclined block or clothliftingdevice slotted to partially receive said cutter and being adjustable onsaid plane, substantially as described.

2. In a fabric-cutting machine, the footpla-te having an inclined planeor surface located in front of the cutter, and a cloth-lifting deviceadjustable on said plane and having a straight or fiat base and inclinedsides, substantially as described.

3. In a fabric-cutting machine, the footplate having an inclined planeor surface thereon located in front of the cutter, and having walls atthe sides and lower end thereof, and a cloth-lifting device adjustableon said plane between its sides, substantially as described.

4.. In a fabric-cutting machine, the footplate havinganinclined planethereon in front of the cutter, the same having walls at the sides andlower end thereof, and a cloth-lifting device adjustable on said planebetween its walls and having inclined sides, substantially as described.

5. In a fabric-cutting machine, the foot plate having an inclined planethereon in front of the cutter, the same having side guides, and acloth-lifting device or block adjustable on said plane between saidguides, substantially as described.

6. In a fabric-cutting machine, the footplate having an inclined planethereon in front of the cutter, the same having side guides and a stopat the lower end thereof, and a clothlifting device or block adjustableon said plane between said guides, substantially as described.

7. In a fabric-cutting machine, the footplate having an inclined planethereon in front of the cutter, the same having side guides, and acloth-lifting block or device adjustable on said plane between theguides, said device being inclined forwardly and at the sides and havingits inner end terminating abruptly, as shown and described.

8. In a fabric-cutting machine, the footplate having an inclined planethereon in front of the cutter, and an inclined block or clothliftingdevice adjustable on said plane and slotted to partially receive saidcutter, the said device having a notch at one side of the slot thereonat the inner end, substantially as described.

9. In a fabric-cutting machine, the footplate having a slot therein, andhaving an inclined plane thereon in front of the cutter, the under sideof said plate being beveled at opposite edges of the slot therein, aninclined cloth-lifting device working upon said plane, a screw passingthrough the same and through the slot in said foot-plate, and a nutlocated between the beveled portions of the footplate and receiving theend of said screw, substantially as described.

10. In a fabric-cutting machine, the footplate having an inclined planethereon in front of the cutter, the same having side guides, and acloth-lifting device adjustable on said plane between the guides, saiddevice having inclined sides and a flat or straight base, substantiallyas described.

11. In a fabric-cutting machine, the combination with the foot-platerecessed in its upper surface to form an inclined plane having walls atthe sides and lower ends thereof, of an adjustable block orcloth-lifting plate adjustable on said plane between said walls,substantially as described.

12. In a fabric-cutting machine, the combination with the foot-platerecessed in its upper surface to form an inclined plane having walls atthe sides and lower end thereof, said plate having a slot dividing saidinclined plane from the upper end thereof for a part of its length, of acloth-liftingblock or device adjustable on said plane, and a screw andnut for securing the same at different adjustments, substantially asdescribed.

13. In a fabric-cutting machine, the footplate thereof having aninclined plane extending upwardly toward the forward edge of the cutter,and with the highest point thereof practically even with the surface ofsaid footplate, and a cloth-lifting device adjustable on said inclinedplane, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

HENRY A. MEYER.

Witnesses:

J os. H. LITTELL, DAVE W. WERTHEIM.

